I've been working with different felt for a few years now. It is very easy to work with, especially pure wool felt, but there are a few tips for creating with felt that you might find helpful:
1. Same as with fabric, always use sharp scissors to avoid uneven edges.
2. I use DMC threads to stitch my toys together, it show off the hand-stitching beautifully. If you are not sure about your hand-stitching, wool felt can be sewn together quite nicely with machine too. Only make sure you clean the needle and dust the fluff off in between projects:)
3. If you are using not a 100% pure new wool felt (viscose or wool and rayon blends), do not pull the thread too tight as it might result in wobbly edges where the felt got pulled in by the thread. Also, thick needle might leave holes in felt blends so try different thickness needles and pick the thinest one.
4. Sometimes, when I cut second body piece for a toys, it turns out smaller then the front, even with a pattern! So, I decided to find a way to make sure they match in shape perfectly without having to pin it all over.
Here is what I recently came up with: when you stitch a toy together, do not cut out the second (back) body part, just cut out a rectangular/square shape instead. Stitch around and cut out after.
(If you try it, I would love to know what you think!)
Here is what I recently came up with: when you stitch a toy together, do not cut out the second (back) body part, just cut out a rectangular/square shape instead. Stitch around and cut out after.
(If you try it, I would love to know what you think!)
5. When cutting out small pieces that don't usually have a pattern, like pupils or tiny spots for example, cut out 4 or 6 circles and pair them according to shape to find 2/3 that look great together.
I cut my toys out just by pinning the pattern on, like clothing patterns BUT if you just starting, try using freezer paper. More information and great tips HERE.
If you have any questions regarding crafting with felt, just ask. I am happy to help!
No questions, then get some felt and start stitching;)
Great tips! Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteLove the shot of the bear in progress. I think the idea of trimming after cf sewing is genius - although my sewing is atrocious so no matter what I do things are unlikely to match up! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips Katia
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips Katia. Have a wonderful holiday
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great tips on using felt. I have made some owl felties for my new grandson and want to try making more toys but need to find a good place to buy the felt. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteDo you always use 100% wool felt? I'm wanting to make a baby mobile and I'm not sure what to use. Also, do you just buy it on the Internet? Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon, most of the time I use 100% pure new wool felt (you can find it in my shop here: www.craftumi.com.au/Plushka). For the baby mobile I don't think it will be much different if you will use the blends as it's not going to get handled too much. But 100% wool felt will definitely be easier to spot clean and will last longer.
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